Guys! Finally some useful admissions-related news! As of today, if you look at the interview schedule page, you will see our complete interview offerings for September to December. And here are the details you’ll need:

Interviews are optional, but evaluative.

The Admissions Committee does not invite you to come interview. You make that decision for yourself.

You should schedule your interview early. Do not wait until you have submitted your application.

Even if you don’t want to have your interview until December 1, you can schedule a time now. That way you’re sure of being able to grab the appointment when you want it.

Interviews will wrap up at the end of the fall semester — Friday, December 9.

We only started offering interviews by Skype last year, but they were so popular that for this fall we’ve increased the number of sessions each week. At the same time, we really want people to visit the School, so we have preserved on-campus appointments, especially on Monday and Friday, when we also offer Information Sessions.

On Friday, I sought inspiration from blog readers via a one-question survey and, as I had hoped, you delivered. I now have fresh topics that I know will meet the needs of at least one reader each (and, I hope, more than that). The first suggested topic I will take on is: Can you discuss the interview for the Fletcher School? What will it cover and how should we prepare for it?

Let’s start with the basics. To sign up for an interview, go to our online schedule, where you’ll see available appointments for both on-campus and Skype interviews. Are you an Early Notification applicant? So long as you complete your interview by Tuesday, November 24, we will ensure that the interview report will catch up with your application before the application review is complete. (Yes, we usually recommend interviewing before submitting the application, but you can trust me that this will work.) I hope that prospective students within about 200 miles will take the time to come to campus (a visit is still much more informative than a Skype interview), but we are excited about the number of locations from which applicants have been able to Skype in. As I wrote earlier this semester, the Skype interviews have been an experiment, and now I can say that they have been largely successful. (What hasn’t succeeded? We’re never going to fix all technology problems, so instead we will make sure everyone’s expectations are in line with internet reality.)

I suppose we shouldn’t have been surprised that the Skype interviews have been very popular. To accommodate last-minute Early Notification interviewees, I will tweak the calendar this week to add additional Skype interviews for next week and the week after. If you haven’t been able to book an interview on a day that suits you, check again later this week.

Beyond the basics, then, how should you prepare for your Fletcher interview. To register for a Skype interview, you will need to upload a résumé. If you are coming over for an on-campus interview, please remember to bring your résumé with you. We suggest business casual clothing. Our student interviewers always appreciate an applicant’s professional approach to the interview appointment. For further details on what to expect, I’m going to share the information that all interviewees receive once they have scheduled an appointment. In our confirmation email, we note:

There’s one last important point that I need to emphasize. Fletcher interviews are offered through December 11. That is, the last day of the interview schedule falls nearly a month before the application deadline. We are well aware that other schools/programs do things differently, but if you are interested in a Fletcher interview, now is the time to sign up for one.

I hope this information is helpful to at least the person who requested it. Keep those suggestions coming on the survey and I’ll respond to as many as I can in the coming weeks.

Among the other projects I’m working on this summer is the overdue launch of evaluative interviews via Skype. Up to now, the great majority of our evaluative interviews have been on campus and face-to-face between the applicant and interviewer. We also offered the opportunity to record an interview online, but the resulting videos, though still helpful in the application review process, couldn’t measure up to the more natural and interactive format. We all had a voice whispering in our ears that the time had come to offer Skype interviews, but we needed to be sure we had all the pieces in place to do so successfully. Now we think we do.

The new Skype interviews will capture many of the features of our on-campus interviews. Evaluative interviews are offered to interested applicants from mid-September through early December. (That is, usually before applications are submitted.) Interviewers will generally be current students. There will be plenty of opportunity for the applicant to ask questions. And whether on campus or via Skype, interviews (however helpful they are for interviewers and the Admissions Committee) remain optional.

We’re still ironing out one wrinkle in the registration process, but we should have that settled next week. (It could be settled in half an hour, but vacation schedules rarely put us all in the same place at once.) When the registration question is decided, the early set-up work will be complete and we’ll share a link to the interview registration page. Note that the Skype interviews are really intended for applicants outside the Boston area, and we will ask you to share your résumé and Skype user name before the interview. Though there are bound to be some bumps in the process, we’re excited to be able to extend the face-to-face interview opportunity to applicants who aren’t able to visit campus.

The fall semester is speeding along and we’re already down to about three weeks remaining for the on-campus interview program, which wraps up on Friday, December 5. (Interview appointments still available — book yours now!)

For applicants who can’t visit before December 5 and those who can’t come to campus at all, we offer the option of a video interview. Let me say at the outset that we are well aware that the video interview is not precisely the same as an in-person interview. But it still offers applicants a forum for presenting themselves, as well as information that doesn’t otherwise fit in their applications. The same student volunteers who conduct our on-campus interviews also review the video interviews.

To save you the searching, allow me to point you toward the instruction page, which gives you the details you need to get started. In particular, note the section that says:

Topics covered in the interview include: why you are interested in The Fletcher School, your previous professional and personal experiences, and your future career goals.

Tip: Take these clues and turn them into question form; then be prepared to answer. Second tip: Follow the suggestion to click the “learn more” option, so that you’re prepared for the video format.

Finally, as has always been the case, Fletcher offers interviews as an opportunity for us to get to know you, and you to get to know us. They remain strictly optional, if also very helpful for applicants.

The on-campus interview program officially ended on Friday, but your opportunities to interview are far from over. There are limited on-campus slots still available through January 9, and an infinite number of times when you can record your own video interview. Christine gives you the details.

For the second application season, Fletcher Admissions is giving you the chance to star in your own video interview!

Can’t make it to campus? Well, brush up on your interviewing skills, dress professionally, and conduct an interview right from the comfort of your own home (or coffee shop, or hotel lobby, or friend’s house — you get the idea). Video interviews are a great way to add valuable supplemental information to your application, such as detail about your background and how The Fletcher School will help you meet your personal and professional goals.

The video interview allows you to respond to a pre-recorded set of questions asked by current Fletcher students. Your recorded response to each question may take up to two minutes. The entire process can be completed in 15 to 20 minutes, so long as you follow the basic instructions.

So how do you go about requesting a video interview? Simple! You email us your name, preferred email address (in the body of the email message), and résumé. You will then receive a response containing the instructions and, more important, a link to the interview site. All video interviews must to be submitted before you submit your application. More information, including instructions and helpful tips, can be found on the Fletcher Admissions website.

We look forward to seeing you on the big screen!

If you have any questions regarding the video interview, please email us or call us at +1.617.627.3040.

Today, Christine gives you all the details on Fletcher’s evaluative interview program. Remember to check this page when you plan your interview!

The Evaluative Interview program has kicked into high gear! Appointments are starting to fill throughout the fall, leading to many happy interviewers, who are eager to get to know you!

By now you may be thinking, how can I interview and meet one of Fletcher’s highly trained student interviewers? Well, I am here to answer your interview-related questions.

What is an evaluative interview? Great question! A personal evaluative interview is a valuable way for you to share information about yourself and learn how The Fletcher School will meet your academic and professional goals.

Should I interview? The interview is recommended, but not required, for all applicants; however, PhD applicants are encouraged to interview.

When should I have my interview? Interviews should generally be completed at least one week prior to the application deadline. The interview program kicked off on September 23 and will run through Friday, December 6. Interviews are offered Monday through Friday during business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Additional interviews will be conducted on a very limited basis until January 9.

When should I schedule my interview? You should schedule your interview as soon as possible, once you have an idea when you would like to visit. We have a good number of appointments available, so it is helpful if you can name a few dates that would be convenient for you. (Note, though, that dates in late November and December fill early!) If you are visiting from out of town (or even down the street!), you may want to schedule your interview in conjunction with an Information Session. More details regarding Information Session dates and times can be found here.

How should I schedule my interview? Please call the office directly at +1.617.627.3040. You should have dates and times in mind when you call, to allow us to best schedule you! If you are unable to call, you can also schedule your interview by email, though this can involve a long back-and-forth process until we find a convenient date. Scheduling by phone is more efficient.

I’m all scheduled! Now what? Once you have scheduled an appointment, you will receive an email confirmation with the date and time of your interview. Make sure you save and read this email thoroughly as it includes directions to the school, as well as what to bring with you (your resume!), practical suggestions (how to dress), and even hints as to the interview content!

If you have questions about the interview program or anything else Admissions related, please call us at +1.617.627.3040 or send us an email.

There’s a certain irony that the week when Fletcher turns lively is also a week when I don’t have much time to write about it in the blog. I’ll do better next week!

Meanwhile, I wanted to say a quick word about the Fletcher approach to admissions interviews.

We’ll be kicking off the season for on-campus interviews on Monday, September 23. There is also an option to record an interview as part of your application. Both forms of interviews are strictly optional. But I would encourage you to try to include one in your application.

We’re going to have plenty to say about both the on-campus and online interviews in the coming weeks. Today, I’ll just cover two key organizational points about scheduling an on-campus interview.

Point One:Interviews are generally offered only through the first week of December, and most applicants plan to schedule their interview before submitting their application. It isn’t an invitation process — it’s your decision. (Yes, I know that many professional schools take a different approach, but their approach is not relevant for your Fletcher application.) So if you’re going to want to interview on campus, you should make your plans to visit now.

Point Two:If you’re going to visit, you should call us soon to schedule your interview. Right now, there are appointments available nearly every hour on nearly every day (Monday to Friday) throughout the fall. Come up with a visit concept (date, morning/afternoon) and then call (or email, though calling can be more efficient) and grab a time.

As I said, more details will follow, but I want to get the word out there that now is a good time to plan your Fletcher visit.

Whether you’re celebrating a holiday at this time of year or not, it’s always a good time to receive a gift, right? We agree, which is why Liz has pulled together tips that will help you through the (optional) online interview process. This is the first year we’ve offered online interviews and, if we’re going to draw accurate conclusions from our experiment, we need applicants to submit high quality interviews. Without further ado, here is Liz’s gift for you:

Fletcher online video interviews: How to prepare
We recently launched our optional Interview Stream online video initiative and we’ve already started receiving submissions. A big thank you to those who have already sent us videos! We’re reviewing them currently, and we’ll note that you didn’t have these tips when you submitted them, so not to worry! For those who haven’t yet taken advantage of this special opportunity, we thought it would be helpful to share some tips and tricks on how to prepare.

As you would for the on-campus interview option, take some time to prepare for your interview. The technology enables us to provide an online interview experience that mirrors an on-campus interview reasonably well, and the questions asked are quite similar to those you could expect if you visited Fletcher. You should be prepared to talk about your résumé, your previous work experience (internships and professional experiences), your interests and professional goals, and why Fletcher is a good fit for them. By answering these questions, you can show the Admissions Committee a little more about who you are and what you will bring to the Fletcher community.

Some additional tips:

Learn More! From the interview sign-in page, click the Learn More button, which leads to a host of helpful features including the opportunity to test your technology (microphone and camera), and tips and tricks on how to select and light the setting in which you are filming. Most important, it will give you a practice question so you can familiarize yourself with the technology and how it works. Take some extra time to explore this helpful section.

Be specific! In answering the questions, don’t assume the person watching your video has your résumé in hand. Use some of the time allotted to highlight your experience. Use the full name of organizations or companies you’ve worked for, and use titles to help us understand your roles. It’s important to create a clear picture of who you are and what you’ve done.

Use your time wisely! As noted in the instructions (found on page 13 of the online application), you have two minutes to answer each question. You may be concerned that this isn’t enough time, but you should be able to adequately answer each question and provide specific examples. (Tip: You have an opportunity for a “do-over.” Use your first try at each question as a practice to help you prepare your thoughts.)

You have options! As noted above, you do have the chance to re-record your response to any of the questions asked. However, once you have moved on to the next question, you cannot go back to previous questions. After each question is asked, you will begin recording your answer almost immediately (there is a countdown clock). Once you’ve finished recording your answer, you can either review your response, re-record your response, or press continue to move on to the next question. You can see right on the screen how many tries you have left, so make sure you know when you are recording your final try.

Wait until the end! After the final question is asked and recorded, Interview Stream must upload the video into our system. This will happen as the closing video plays. You will receive an email confirmation to let you know it has been submitted.

We hope you enjoy this new option for interviews! Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Once again drawing ideas from the results of my little survey, today I’m going to talk about the application, and what a good application looks like. But first, exciting news! We have now officially launched our new online interviews! If you have already started an application, you’ll be given a link to access the interview site. Meanwhile, you can read all about it in this article from the Tufts Daily. I did a test interview myself. My suggestion: take advantage of the opportunity to record a practice video. I learned everything I needed to know by seeing my own mistakes in the test recording. (Note that there is no penalty to EN applicants who applied before we had the system in place. Those whose applications are deferred for reconsideration in the spring will be invited to submit an online interview.)

And now, turning to the application. The reader’s suggestion was actually to talk about what makes a good applicant, and I promise to return to that subject soon. But today, I want to talk about the application itself. The fact is that applicants who will apply in January can no longer make many significant changes to their credentials. Can you change your work history? Grades for your undergrad study? International experience? No. No. And no. So what power can you still exert over your prospects for admission? Well, you can make sure you submit a good application.

So what distinguishes a good application from a crummy one? Two key points. The first should be obvious, but apparently it isn’t: Follow the directions! Answer every question on the form thoroughly. Never (ever ever) say “please refer to résumé.” Be sure to list all your key professional experiences, even if they were unpaid. Don’t assume we don’t want to know about the two years you spent working in a laboratory when, by omitting this information, you make it appear you were unemployed for all that time. List your recommenders, even though you also need to register them through a separate part of the application. I could go on, but the point should be clear — complete every part of the application form with care.

And the advice is essentially the same for the essays. Follow the directions and make sure you have answered the questions. It’s very frustrating for Admissions Committee readers when they reach the end of the personal statement and still don’t know what the applicant wants to do at Fletcher and beyond. A frustrated application reader is bad news for the applicant. We know you want to recycle the same essay for different schools with different essay prompts. Go ahead and recycle selectively, but you still need to be sure to answer the question.

The second point may be slightly less obvious. Your application has many parts, all of which should work on your behalf. Make sure that each piece tells a little more of your story. Beyond the form itself, make sure your résumé is very clear. Avoid acronyms. We know that you know what your organization, Xybrav, does, but we don’t know, and you should tell us. Do you work for the UN agency UNRAITUSAL? Please remind us what that agency does. Remember that Fletcher is a multidisciplinary place — it’s not realistic (or in your interest) to expect everyone to be equally conversant in all areas. And please, I estimate that there are fewer than five applicants each year who need a résumé longer than about three pages. Carefully consider whether you are truly one of those five. (Hint: Is your graduation year 2011 or later? You do not need more than three pages.)

Make sure your recommendations are all written in English. I know that this is a genuine challenge for many of you, but I cannot guarantee your application will be reviewed by someone who speaks your native language. A letter written in a language no one on the Admissions Committee reads is a wasted letter.

If you’re going to upload your transcripts, ensure they will be legible for us, or we’ll need to contact you to send new ones. Will your transcript copy be covered with warnings that say the photocopy is unofficial? You may need to mail us the original. And way too many people ignore the requirement that they explain their education system’s grading, if it’s not on the 4.0 scale that is common (but not universal) in the U.S. Is your grade of 5 out of 6? Out of 10? Out of 12? Out of 20? All these options would reflect grading systems we have seen. Is your GPA of 1.3 as horrible as it looks in the U.S. context? Or is it as good as it looks in the German context? A passing grade in the U.S. is usually 65. Did your university follow the British convention, in which a 56 might be a good result? As many universities and systems as we know, it is a mistake for you to assume we know yours. If your transcript doesn’t explain it, you should!

Use your essays mindfully. Make sure the second essay tells us something that promotes your candidacy. We still talk about the essay (which, to be fair, was written in response to a since-abandoned prompt) that an applicant sent about how his life’s greatest challenge was getting drunk on his 30th birthday. Need I say more?

Finally, DO NOT WASTE SPACE in your personal statement or second essay addressing shortcomings in your application. Use the “Additional Information” section for that. And if you need to explain your grades or test scores, do not whine.

Last, both before and after you have completed the application (but before you submit it), review the application instructions, which you can find to the right on this page for each program. Make the corrections before you submit the application so that you’re not one of those people who asks us to ignore something they’ve already sent.

There you go. Make us happy with a well-constructed application that tells your story in the best possible way. It will make us respect you as an applicant, and respect is a good thing.

Leaping forward with new technologies, we are almost ready to launch a new feature of the Fletcher admissions process — an online interview! Applicants will be invited to access the interview website and to record responses to a short list of questions. Of course, we fully realize that this is not the same as an on-campus interview. (If nothing else, there’s no opportunity to ask questions, an important part of the traditional interview.) But we’re excited about the option for applicants who are not able to visit Fletcher, and who otherwise would not have an interview as part of their application.

We expect the new system/process to be up and running in December, in time for applicants aiming for the January 10 deadline. Early Notification applicants for whom we defer making a final decision to the spring will also have the opportunity to record an interview.

Stay tuned for further details!

And speaking of further details, the most targeted and relevant-to-applicants information goes to those who have connected with us. If you haven’t yet done so, I’d encourage you to sign up for emails.